


Do You Still Care?

by cassiopeiasara



Series: Infinite Playlist of Ships [11]
Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: F/F, a little angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 06:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6555022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiopeiasara/pseuds/cassiopeiasara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been eighteen years since Laurel has seen Michaela and she’s always wondered what happened to her. She gets the chance to find out one evening during a conference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Still Care?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: In response to an anonymous prompt asking for a fic based on Adele's "When We Were Young"
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters and seek no profit. No beta on this one so all mistakes are my own.

Laurel wasn’t sure why she continued to attend the mixers following conferences. Her network had become pretty solid over the last 15 years and most of the crowd consisted of colleagues just trying to hook up for the weekend.

She sighed as she brought a glass of wine to her lips. Hooking up wouldn’t exactly be the worst thing at the moment. Robert left her a year ago after 12 years of marriage and the insistence that the only thing Laurel ever truly loved was her career. She’d filled the void with one night stands and nights in with her cat and _Gilmore Girls_ marathons. She set her drink down and started to run her finger along the edge of her cocktail napkin. She wondered if she’d just become one of those bitter divorced women who show up at family gatherings lamenting the inevitable tragic end of all love stories. 

She eyed her glass and considered going back to her hotel room after it was empty. She did have some work she could do and it was obvious that the idea to stay was a bust. Then she heard it. A laugh she knew all too well that called to a distant ache in her heart. She turned slowly, torn between wishing she was wrong and hoping she might not be. 

She wasn’t wrong. 

Michaela looked every bit as gorgeous as she did when they were in school. She wore a purple dress that flared right below her knee, her hair pinned in a low bun, and dazzling white earrings hung from her ears. Laurel tried to place the man Michaela was with but couldn’t remember his name. He was one of the presenters in a session she hadn’t attended but she remembered his picture from the brochure. 

They hadn’t seen each other in years, not since Michaela left for France to work for Eve and Laurel stayed on a couple of years with Annalise. 

_“Why France?” Laurel asked her as she gripped the back of her chair and tried not to drop their dinner plates._

_Michaela waited a long moment before she answered. “Maybe I need a change.” She stood and placed her napkin on the table. “Thanks for having me Laurel. I’m..” She moved closer and placed her hand on Laurel’s forearm. “I’m glad we got to see each other before I left.”_

Laurel didn’t hear much from Michaela after she moved. It hurt of course, they’d gotten so close and Laurel couldn’t help but wonder at times if it could have evolved into something more. Michaela left before she could really find out. She remembered that the only information she’d received was that Michaela relocated to New York. She’d been informed during her visit to California to meet Connor and Oliver’s little girl but that was four years ago. 

Michaela turned then and suddenly Laurel felt fifteen years younger as Michaela’s eyes fell on hers. Laurel offered her a small smile and Michaela stiffened as she nodded in acknowledgement.

Laurel turned and drowned the rest of her drink. It was stupid to think they would have much to say to each other or that Michaela would even want to talk to her. If she hadn’t reached out in all these years, it had to mean something, didn’t it? 

Laurel took out her wallet and threw down a tip before she rose to go up to her room. 

“You leaving?”

Laurel paused and turned toward her. “Not much to stay for I guess.”

Michaela nodded as she took a seat. “You sure about that?”

Laurel shrugged and returned to her stool. “How are you?” She tried for a conversational tone but she could hear the yearning in her voice and cursed her inability to better school her emotions. 

Michaela signaled for the bartender and kept her eyes forward as she answered. “I’m good. I’m in New York now.”

Laurel shifted in her seat. “Yeah, Connor told me.”

Michaela smiled then. “How is he?”

Laurel sighed. “He’s good but Michaela why did he have to…” She caught Michaela’s stiffening again. She softened her expression as she turned toward her. “What is it?”

Michaela ordered a glass of wine and after the bartender disappeared again, she returned Laurel’s gaze. “I couldn’t tell you that I..” She sighed as she placed her hand on the corner of a napkin the bartender left. “I wanted to talk to you Laurel, I did but…”

Laurel noticed the bright ring on Michaela’s left hand and though it was far simpler than the ring she’d had from Aiden, it was stunning. Laurel nodded toward it. “Connor left out that detail.”

Michaela followed Laurel’s line of sight and covered her left hand with her right. “It’s why I moved to New York.”

Laurel started to fiddle with her fingers. “That where he’s from?”

“Hmm?” Michaela muttered as a glass of wine was placed in front of her. Laurel gestured to Michaela’s left hand again. “Oh no actually, he was from Georgia and stationed in France when we met.” She took a sip of her wine as she turned from Laurel for a minute.

Laurel didn’t miss the past tense and wondered why Michaela would continue to wear a ring if she was divorced. “Any kids?”

Michaela smiled. “A little girl. We wanted more but..” She took a breath. “He was killed in a car accident five years ago. Crazy isn’t it? He was a soldier and he’s killed walking home from the grocery store.”

Laurel reached for her then. A hand on her forearm. Something light and something Michaela could easily brush off if she needed to. She didn’t say she was sorry because that’s never enough for such a loss and this has always been the way she communicated her support for Michaela. 

Michaela didn’t pull away from the touch but she immediately changed the subject. “How are you? I hear you’re one of the most sought after defense attorneys in Pittsburgh.”

Laurel moved her hand away slowly. “I’m good and I’m glad to hear you’ve heard of me.” She could hear the bitterness in her tone and she wished it wasn’t there. This wasn’t the way she’d pictured seeing Michaela after all this time. Laurel caught sight of the man from before approaching them and didn’t miss the sigh that escaped Michalea.   

Michaela offered her a bright smile and stood up. “How about I treat you to some room service and we catch up?” She took Laurel’s hand as she dropped some cash on the bar. 

When they reached the elevator, Michaela pulled Laurel in with her and pressed the button frantically. 

Laurel knitted her eyebrows and crossed her arms as soon as the doors closed. “Care to explain?”

Michaela jumped as if she just remembered Laurel was there. “God, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stand another conversation with that man. He cornered me in London a couple of years ago and it was the most boring night of my life.”

Laurel smiled, the panicked look on Michaela’s face flooded her with memories of late night studying, evading guys in bars and the one time Michaela forgot notes for a case presentation. These moments were Laurel’s favorite, not just because they were endearing but because it reminded her that prefect top of the class Michaela was also very human.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the ding of the elevator bell and Michaela rolling her eyes as she asked her something. “What?”

Michaela crossed her arms. “I asked if you wanted something to drink. I do owe you for helping with the escape plan.”

Laurel nodded as she stepped out after her. “Only if it comes with cheesecake.”

Michaela let out a small laugh as they made their way to her room.  

* * *

They were toward the end of the champagne bottle and Michaela was giggling as she gestured wildly with her hands recalling a party at Connor and Oliver’s before Laurel suddenly interrupted, “Why did you leave?”

Michaelas arms froze midair as she stared at Laurel. Her pause felt like forever and Laurel started to wonder whether or not Michaela actually heard her. 

Laurel opened her mouth to speak again when Michaela finally lowered her arms to her lap. She casts her gaze downward as she replied, “I had to.”

“Had to?”

Michaela shook her head and finally looked up. “Look I’ve never done anything remotely spontaneous and I thought you’d get it. I mean hell, it’s been almost 20 years and I still wake up wondering if some rookie police officer trying to make an impression will figure out what happened and I just needed to start somewhere else. Somewhere I could clear my head and I just couldn’t stay there.”

Laurel nodded. She could understand that.

Michaela lowered her gaze again and added quietly, “And I thought you’d maybe come to.”

Laurel cocked her head to the side. “What?”

Michaela stood up and started to pace. “Look Laurel, I don’t know. It sometimes felt like it was just us and not just cause we were the only women or because we were always with Connor and Oliver. It felt like maybe..” She stopped and took a breath. “But then you didn’t take Eve up on the offer and-”

Laurel stood then. “Wait, what offer?”

Michaela crossed her eyebrows in confusion. “You don’t know…” She sighed as she slumped her shoulders and sat back down on the bed. “God, that woman.”

Laurel threw up her hands. “It would be really helpful if you started speaking in complete sentences Michaela.”

“When I accepted Eve’s offer she let me know she’d sent one to you too but it was delivered to Annalise’s and I’m assuming that’s why you didn’t get it.”

Laurel rolled her eyes and sighed as she plopped down next to Michaela. “Annalise never stopped, did she? I wondered why nothing else came up after graduation.”

“Hmm,” muttered Michaela as she nodded. “I don’t know how much you would have enjoyed international law.”

Laurel shrugged. “Yeah but it would have meant I wasn’t sitting here with you years later feeling like a stranger.” She paused as Michaela looked down at the floor and sighed. “Your fashion sense is still flawless I gotta say.”

Michaela scoffed. “Flatterer.”

Laurel shook her head. “No if I was going with flattery, I’d tell you that you still look gorgeous.”

Michaela smiled and turned to look at her. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” Laurel rolled her eyes and Michaela laughed. “We don’t have to be strangers Laurel.” She moved her hand to squeeze Laurel’s. “I don’t want to be.”

Laurel started to stroke Michaela’s hand with her thumb. “Me either.”


End file.
